New Ganges Restaurant

02/13/08

Oily Indian Food

by nanceyg at Citysearch

I had the food from New Ganges delivered last week. It arrived about 1 hour later than promised. I believe the owner was the deliverer because he was telling me to promise to come in to the restaurant just once. I smiled and wished him a good eve, having already read the reviews here mentioning his patronizing behavior. I've eaten at other restaurants with this type of over attentiveness and it will keep me from returning. In the case of New Ganges, I plan to never eat on site for this reason first.

Secondly I won't be eating there again due to the food. It wasn't awful, but it also wasn't nearly as good as many other Indian restaurants in SF. As most vegitarians know, Indian Food is one of the easiest types of restaurants to order Vegitarian in. So to have a Veggie Indian Restaurant isn't saying much. If anything, I would hope it meant I have more options. That was not the case at New Ganges. In fact, there are less choices here.

The food itself was very oily. I ordered the # 8 with pakoras that were lumps of starch with no veg to be found and no flavor., #5 which had no tomato to be found, it actually seemed be potato dumplings that were just ok, # 21 that was again, ok. and #14also flavor was just ok. I also had raita which was ok and zeerta rice (though I only ordered plain rice.) Again the #5, 14 and 21 all were very heavy in oil. I reheated left overs and everything was swimming in the oil.

The heat levels are 1,2, 3, and 4. I ordered 3 and was flaming. The food had chili flakes everywhere. Just a warning.

The overall flavor of the food is rather simple and unrefined. Many reviewers have talked about it tasting homemade (or not). I would liken it to food at a potluck.

Do be cautioned that he tries to throw things in there and you'll be paying if you say yes to any of it. He also speaks very fast and I found him difficult to understand over the phone.

All in all, just ok.

• Pros: hmmmm
• Cons: oily, hard sell

07/08/05

Fried Green Letdown

by zlatorog at Citysearch

I love Indian, so I was doubly dissapointed after a recent visit to New Ganges. On the plus side, the roti's were very good, obviously homemade (very hard to find in SF). You can definately find better veg. Indian at almost any place near Jones and Geary. In the two entrees (an eggplant dish and a spinach dish) the vegetables had a consistency of oversaturated paper towels. But what really set this restaurant apart was when the owner emerged from the kitchen to boast about his fresh ingredients and cooking awards AFTER we had been served our abysmal meal. It was too much.

• Pros: roti
• Cons: subpar veg., service

07/06/05

A Great Beginning, and a Great Ending...

by marino13 at Citysearch

If it wasn't for the lackluster entrees, this would be my pick for vegetarian Indian in SF. The appetisers were good. We tried the Samosas and they were homemade and very tasty. The dessert was also nice, a sort of a yam pudding that was creamy and sweet. Unfortunately, the entrees were really dissapointing. The Barta (sp?) was like the Exxon Valdez, and the Saag Paneer was very average. Still, this would be a good place for a snack or something sweet after dinner. Not a place for a date really, as I've seen some fast food places with more charm.

• Pros: desert, appetisers
• Cons: atmosphere, entrees

07/05/05

A mediocre experience

by willbillson at Citysearch

I did not have a good experience at this restauant. The food was high on oil and low on flavor. The paneer was homemade, but the sauce did nothing to distinguish it. The Korma was too heavy, though the fried eggplant appetiser was good and the carrot and cream of wheat dessert was tasty. The restaurant was empty on a Friday night, as people in the neighborhood must have already known what we were about to discover, that New Ganges is nothing special.

• Pros: quiet